'
'No one could have been concealed behind the curtain of the window?'
said the doctor to Madame Midas.
'No,' she replied, 'but the window was open all night; so if it is
as Kitty says, the man who gave the poison must have put his hand
through the open window.'
Dr Chinston went to the window and looked out; there were no marks
of feet on the flower bed, where it was so soft that anyone standing
on it would have left a footmark behind.
'Strange,' said the doctor, 'it's a peculiar story,' looking at
Kitty keenly.
'But a true one,' she replied boldly, the colour coming back to her
face; 'I say she was poisoned.'
'By whom?' asked Madame Midas, the memory of her husband coming back
to her.
'I can't tell you,' answered Kitty, 'I only saw the hand.'
'At all events,' said Chinston, slowly, 'the poisoner did not know
that your nurse was with you, so the poison was meant for Mrs
Villiers.'
Tor me?' she echoed, ghastly pale; 'I knew it,--my husband is alive,
and this is his work.'
CHAPTER XII
A STARTLING DISCOVERY
Ill news travels fast, and before noon the death of Selina Sprotts
was known all over Melbourne. The ubiquitous reporter, of course,
appeared on the scene, and the evening papers gave its own version
of the affair, and a hint at foul play. There was no grounds for
this statement, as Dr Chinston told Kitty and Madame Midas to say
nothing about the poison, and it was generally understood that the
deceased had died from apoplexy.
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